This is a crazy, beautiful adventure – Vertonghen
Jan Vertonghen says Mauricio Pochettino’s “unbelievable” ability to bond Tottenham Hotspur’s homegrown players with their overseas talent is the secret of the club’s “crazy and beautiful” Champions League adventure.
There are no cliques within this Spurs squad, according to the Belgian centre-back, who paid glowing tribute to his manager for masterminding their against-the-odds progress to the final.
Vertonghen, 32, has been one of Tottenham’s top performers en route to tomorrow’s showpiece against Liverpool, but says the entire squad contributed equally to their success this season.
“Every player has been used in the Champions League and played his part,” he said. “It’s been the craziest one ever, and being at the end of that crazy campaign now is something unbelievable. We all played our parts and hopefully we can hold the trophy at the end of the game.”
During his five years in charge, Pochettino has convinced the squad that their legacy must be to land silverware. Vertonghen said the team must “cherish” their night at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
“Five years ago, he picked this club up and brought us to the level we are at now,” Vertonghen said. “He’s done some unbelievable work. We have a great group of players, lots of young guys from the academy, lots of English internationals and guys from abroad who have a proper connection with the club now. All the guys together, here for so long with the manager, it’s got us to this level.”
Vertonghen, who signed from Ajax in 2012, says his team-mates are “very confident” about tomorrow, having proved their calibre during the knockout stages against Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and his former club. He said Spurs’ route to the final had left him feeling “about 16 times” that this was going to be their year.
“In the group stages, we should not have lost that Inter away game, we got one point after three games, the Barca away game… there are so many I can’t tell them all but it’s been crazy. To be playing in a Champions League final is something to cherish.
“At the end of my career, I’ll hopefully look at this and think this was the most beautiful and craziest year of them all.”
For Liverpool, there is more external pressure, the Belgian said. “I will always be able to say I was part of a Champions League final but you want to tell a different story to your kids, and this is the ideal script.
“The first two years I was here were Europa League nights but it’s what we’ve been working on. Maybe outside, they did not expect a Champions League final, and I can understand that. But I think we’ve got an unbelievable group of players. There’s so much quality. Quality-wise, for me, it’s not a surprise.”
Spurs are desperate to end a long spell without a trophy. Tottenham won the 2008 League Cup, but have not lifted the FA Cup since 1991. Pochettino has always prioritised the league and Champion League.
“This is what we all hoped for,” Vertonghen said. “I am extremely happy that we have been able to achieve this with the same manager and with a big group of players who have been here for several years. We always want to remember this team as a team that was able to win the trophy.”